An examination of the abandonment of applications for energy efficiency retrofit grants in Ireland

Abstract

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. This scheme provides a financial incentive for home owners to engage in energy efficient retrofits, provided the upgrades meet appropriate energy efficiency standards. This study analyses the BEH data, which is comprised of all applications from March 2009 to October 2015, in order to examine the extent to which applications are abandoned and the determinants thereof. We find that more complicated retrofits are more likely to be abandoned, with variation across certain retrofit measure combinations. We find lower probabilities of abandonment among certain obligated parties, who are energy retailers obliged by the State to reduce energy consumption in Ireland, while others possess greater likelihoods of abandonment, relative to private retrofits. We find that newer homes are less likely to abandon an application than older homes, as are applications made for apartments, relative to houses. Regional variations exist in abandonment, with rural households more likely to abandon than urban households. A seasonal trend in abandonment is also present, with higher likelihoods of abandonment among applications made during winter. Terms of use: Documents in

Culture and low-carbon energy transitions

“…In Ireland, one evaluation of the Better Energy Homes scheme concluded that "culture also has a large effect" in the uptake of retrofits, but in the other direction, towards the abandonment of applications. 103 The study noted that stress, 385 disruption, and notions of cleanliness and dirt (not wanting a house to be temporarily dirty) 386 all increase the likelihood of a retrofit being abandoned. 387…”

Carbon taxes, poverty and compensation options

“…Within the Better Energy Homes scheme, the mean cost per unit BER improvement (incl. grant) is €72.60/kWh/m 2 /year across all retrofit measures, property types, and property sizes (Collins and Curtis, 2017). Using this as a rule of thumb, the estimated cost of upgrading a property from the E, F or G BER grades to B2 status could exceed €18,000, though likely to be substantially higher.…”

“…The design of the grant scheme itself may represent barriers to engagement. For example, applicants to the Better Energy Homes scheme between 2009 and 2015 seeking to undertake 'deeper' retrofits are more likely to abandon their application, possibly due to administrative and logistical burdens (Collins and Curtis, 2017). Even where retrofits are cost free to the occupants and managed by the landlord, a fraction of rental tenants are reluctant to participate in home retrofits that ultimately will provide benefits to the tenants in terms of improved comfort and lower energy costs (Coyne et al, 2018).…”

“…This leads to significant variation in the level of grant aid provided relative to the energy efficiency improvement gained. Across five years of the Better Energy Home scheme, grant aid per unit energy efficiency improvement ranges from €0.62/kWh/m2/year to €4,545/kWh/m2/year with a mean of €20.96/kWh/m2/year (Collins and Curtis, 2017). Using this as a metric, some grants constitute relatively poor value for money from the perspective of the Exchequer.…”

An examination of energy efficiency retrofit scheme applications by low-income households in Ireland

“…Low adoption of energy efficiency retrofits by low-income households is attributed to four barriers: economic, informational, behavioural and, administrative (Sorrell et al, 2004(Sorrell et al, , 2000 been investigated (e.g. Collins and Curtis, 2017a), the abandonment of programs targeting vulnerable households has received little attention in the existing literature.…”